Nabanga

Nabanga Sports For Development is an inclusive sporting program within the Department of Sports for Development in the MoYSD. The department includes men, women, churches, schools, chiefs, youth leaders, young girls and boys and people with disabilities. Nabanga runs sporting activities in rural communities that are enjoyable, fun and inclusive of everyone. The activities are organized so that the participants do physical activities through sports apart from their normal activities like gardening, fishing etc.

Nabanga Sports for Development is a department of the MoYSD, managed by a National Sports Coordinator. It began in 2008 and was funded by Department of Foreign Affairs Australia to March 2015. The department partnered with three local organizations: Save the Children Australia, Sanma Frangipani Association and Tafea in North and West Tanna and Aniwa Island. Nabanga uses sports as a vehicle to help communities reduce non-communicable diseases, social problems affecting communities and promote social cohesion. It is also to help the youths in the communities to run organized sports in their communities and be a leader of their communities. Capacity trainings are provided to help the youths and leaders in the communities as well as sport trainings of specific desired and requested by the communities.

A Way Forward with Nabanga

Nabanga has grown significantly from 2004 to 2016. Between 2004 -2008 Nabanga has had trainings and established a presence in Penama, Tafea, Torba, Sanma, Penama and Tanna. Torba has six different communities with a Nabanga presence, Malampa with five communities, Sanma to twelve communities, focusing on people with disabilities. Aniwa has three communities, Penama has five communities and Tanna two communities. The challenge Nabanga is facing now is finance since Australian funding from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) ceased since February 2015, it’s now relying on government funding. However, Nabanga initiatives are still running strong in many provinces as well as the office in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.